The Legend of Spyro: The Cave of Horrors
by Drake Dragonsoul
Summary: Cynder has been missing for nearly a month now. Spyro has been stuck in the temple, the guardians not wanting to endanger him. Meanwhile, the Dark Master has put a new plan into motion, a plan that could tip the balance of power in his favor.
1. Toils of the Young

Author's Note: Yo! I'm back. I've seen some previews for the next Spyro game and it's convinced me to start this next installment in my Spyro series. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: As usual I don't own the rights to Spyro, or any other characters.

Chapter 1

Toils of the Young

"But why can't I fight?" Spyro asked.

"You're too young," Ignitus replied, not looking up from the pool of visions.

"You let him go to rescue all of the guardians by himself," Cyril huffed.

"Out of necessity," Ignitus said, glancing up from the pool with an irritated expression. "There was no one else to send, but now we have a whole army."

"But why can't I still fight?" Spyro asked.

Sparx shook his head. "What? Freeing four guardians, defeating the evil, sexy dragon, and then returning the whole dragon tribe back to their home wasn't dangerous enough for you? Yes, let's see if we can go out and cheat death again."

"Sparx is right… for once," Ignitus said, turning to face Spyro. "Spyro, you should wait a few years before you consider fighting, all of your powers still haven't returned and your training isn't complete yet."

"But the Dark Master is out there right _now_," Spyro said, looking at the other guardians to see if they could convince Ignitus.

Volteer looked away, while Cyril sighed.

Terrador glanced at the other three and then stepped forward. "Spyro is already a very good fighter."

"Yes, exactly," Cyril said.

Spyro tensed hopefully.

"But you should still wait until you're recovered your other elemental powers," Terrador said.

Spyro's shoulders slumped and his wings dropped to his sides.

"Well, that's good enough for me," Sparx said. "Now, let's go. There's an old rotting log I've found in the forest and if you flip it over, I bet we'll find all kinds of tasty treats under it."

Spyro turned and left the room, Sparx hovering at his side. Spyro was aware of Sparx saying something, but he was too interested in looking at the ground to really hear what he was saying.

"You aren't listening to me, are you?"

"Uh, no," Spyro said.

"Jeez, you've been such a bore lately," Sparx said. "Why do you care that the female fright is gone? She bit your neck and you don't seem to mind? Let me guess, there was a bug on you and she just got carried away when she tried to smash it."

"She couldn't control herself!" Spyro snapped. He turned and glared at his adopted brother.

"Yeah, okay," Sparx said, trying his best to sound placating. "But she's still dangerous whether it's her fault, or not."

"I know," Spyro said, looking at the ground again.

"But you want to bring her back here…" Sparx said.

"How's being by herself going to make it any better?" Spyro asked, flicking his tail angrily and bringing his wings back up, swatting Sparx, and sending him flying into the wall. "And there are all kinds of dangers out there. The Dark Master still wants her."

Sparx pushed himself back up and took to the air, staying away from Spyro, who was now pacing back and forth, swing his tail and fluttering his wings. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it."

Spyro glanced over at him and sighed heavily. "Yeah, you're right."

"Anyway, Kadie is with her at least," Sparx said. He chuckled. "She's probably more useful to Cynder then I am to you."

--

Cynder sat on the floor of the hut, her eyes squeezed closed, her wings folded and her tail wrapped around her front feet.

"Reach deep inside yourself," Jirin's voice had a sort of hypnotic tone to it. "Can you feel that seething mass of darkness inside of you?"

Cynder nodded. Her stomach felt like it was filled with a seething, heavy liquid. She felt sick.

"Seize it and pull it out."

Jirin had had her practice this part a lot. She was supposed to use the magical energy in her body to remove the pieces of the Dark Master inside herself.

Cynder focused her energy, feeling all of the warmth in her body being channeled toward her stomach. Now, for the hardest part, she seized the glob of liquid and pulled. A wave of nausea hit her instantly and almost broke her concentration, but she was prepared for this. She was also prepared for the pulling sensation as the piece of the Dark Master was pulled out, the nausea getting worse as it went. Finally, it was far enough and she could make the nausea work for her, rather then against her.

Her eyes snapped up and she leaned forward, opening her mouth as she vomited a thick black liquid into the wooden bucket in front of her. The liquid split and half fell into the bucket, while the other piece crawled back down her throat. Cynder chocked and coughed as it did.

Jirin stepped forward and tossed a lantern into the bucketful of darkness. The lantern shatter and the purple flames inside light the liquid on fire, the blackness screeched and several tendrils reached up and flailed as it burnt.

The llama passed another bucket, this one full of water, to Cynder. She nodded gratefully and lapped at the water, washing away the foul taste in her mouth. She could feel what was left of the darkness squirming inside of her belly.

"Why is it solid?" Cynder asked, once she had caught her breath and the liquid's screaming had stopped. "I thought a soul was supposed to be intangible."

"Normally, it is," Jirin said. "But the Dark Master's soul is so full of evil that it has become tangible."

Cynder glanced at the ashes that were left in the bucket. "It looks just like his body."

"That's not his body," Jirin said. "His body was destroyed, but his soul survived. If he ever regained his body, he would be many times more powerful."

"Hey, Jirin, I've found the last group of undead," Kadie said as she flew in through the window. "Ew, what's that smell?"

"Cynder managed to get some of the Dark Master's soul out of her," Jirin said. "Now, where are they?"

Cynder frowned. She couldn't smell anything.


	2. Thanks a lot, Sparx!

Disclaimer: I don't own Spyro. Yes, it's sad, I know.

Chapter 2

Thanks a lot, Sparx!

"Tara's looking over here again," Crystalis said.

Spyro sighed and glanced across the clearing at the yellow electric dragon. A small group of her friends were with her and a muscular earth dragon seemed to be trying to talk to her, but her attention was fixed on Spyro.

"Dude, you should totally go talk to her," Sparx said. "I think she likes you."

"She likes me because I'm a purple dragon," Spyro said. "It has nothing to do with who I am."

"That wouldn't stop me," Sparx said.

Crystalis rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Her being a different species wouldn't stop you either, would it?"

"Of course, it would!" Sparx said, sounding offended. "I'm not about to romance some overweight lizard."

"You better not let her hear you say that," Spyro commented.

The earth dragon had given up now and stalked off, glaring at Spyro as he went. He was barely out of sight, when Tara stood up and started toward the three of them, eyeing Spyro the same way he had seen Sparx eye a particularly juicy-looking butterfly.

Spyro glanced back at Crystalis. "Quick! Start a conversation!"

"About what?" the ice dragon asked.

"Anything!" Spyro glanced back and saw that Tara was almost within hearing distance.

"So that training session today was really tough, wasn't it?" Crystalis asked nervously.

"Yeah, Cyril really doesn't know when to let up," Spyro nodded.

"Guys…," Sparx said. "Today is Saturday, there was no training session."

The two paused, at a loss for words and Tara took advantage of the momentary silence.

"Hey, Spyro," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Spyro replied, standing up and turning to face her. "What about you?"

"Well, I have nothing to do later tonight," she said. "If you're not doing anything, maybe we could go on a stroll through the forest?"

Spyro frowned. He wasn't doing anything later and he couldn't lie to Tara's face.

"He's not doing anything," Sparx said.

Tara glanced up at the dragonfly for a moment and then back at Spyro. "Okay, I'll meet you at the temple gates at sunset."

She turned and strolled off, before the stunned Spyro could refuse. The purple dragon's mouth gaped in amazement for a moment, and then he rounded on Sparx. "Why'd you do that?"

"Well, you weren't saying anything," Sparx shrugged.

"Great."

"You could just not show up," Crystalis suggested.

"She'd come find me if I didn't," Spyro heaved a heavy sigh. "It's just one date. I'll get through it… somehow."

--

Cynder swung her tail at the undead's head. The blow connected and sent the ghoul's skull flying through the air. The body stopped and dropped its sword, reaching up and feeling the empty space where its head should have been.

Another one charged at her, but the one that she had decapitated blindly wandered in front of it and they collided, landing on the floor in a heap of bones and armor. A third leapt over his two comrades and swung his weapon at Cynder's head, but she tilted her head to the side and the sword bounced off her horn. She slashed at its chest, knocking away a chunk of rusted armor. It swung its sword again, but Cynder blocked it with her tail blade and then slashed her tail blade at its leg. The blade sliced straight through the armor and bone and the skeleton suddenly found itself off-balance. A head butt knocked it on its back.

Jirin shouted something in a language that Cynder didn't recognize and a purple glow appeared around the piles of bones on the floor. The bones slowly melted into the rock.

"So that's the last of them?" Cynder asked.

"Looks like it," Kadie said rolling the decapitated head over towards them. The head was snarling angrily. Kadie shoved it and it rolled to Jirin's feet. The llama repeated his previous incantation and the head sank into the cave floor.

"Finally, I'm too old for this," Jirin sighed, sitting down on a boulder and leaning back against the cave wall.

"Where did those things come from?" Cynder asked, sitting down across from him.

"There are legends," Jirin said. "About a huge army that swept across the world many years ago. They lived for nothing, but war and conquest. Every nation that they swallowed just added to their numbers. They destroyed a small village of wizards that refused to surrender to them. The survivors placed a terrible curse on them. They would never die; they would live and conquer forever."

Kadie scoffed. "Those wizards weren't very bright. I mean, they just let those barbarians do what they love to do forever? That's a real punishment."

"Yes, it is," Jirin said. "They can be destroyed, but they suffer the pain of their wounds until they pull themselves back together and they can't eat, or sleep. I imagine there are other pieces to the curse as well."

"So how do you know how to make them stay dead?" Cynder asked.

"My spell just stops them from reassembling themselves by burying them," Jirin explained. "If I did not renew the spell, they would break free."

"So, they're stuck under the ground in bits and pieces?" Kadie asked. "Gee, maybe those wizards did know what they were doing."

"They knew," Jirin nodded sadly. "We should return to the hut."

--

"Hey, mom, I'm home!" Crystalis said, pushing the door to the chamber open.

"Good, you really shouldn't stay out so late," Crystalis's mother, a white ice dragon said. "Hello. Spyro, Sparx."

"Hello, ma'am," Spyro greeted. He glanced around the room. A large cut of flame-broiled sheep lay on the floor behind her and Crystalis was already ripping chunks of meat from it.

"Do you want to stay for supper…?" Her voice trailed off as he looked back to see her son already eating.

"No, I sort of have something I have to do tonight…," Spyro said, shooting a glare at Sparx.

"Well, maybe next time," she shrugged.

"Sure," Spyro shot one last longing look at the sheep and then turned and headed toward the temple gates.


	3. The Dreaded Date

Disclaimer: I don't own the Spyro series, etc. etc. It's currently owned by whomever.

Chapter 3

The Dreaded Date

Spyro headed for the temple gates. He sighed as he remembered how he had asked Cynder out for a "picnic" shortly before she disappeared. He paused and unconsciously touched the scar on his throat with his front paw.

He wished he could get out of this stupid date. He didn't even like Tara, let alone love her. He knew that he felt something for Cynder that was a little more then just friendship.

The purple dragon took several steps backward and turned halfway around. He turned back around and continued toward the gate. "It's just one date, Spyro. I'm going to get Sparx for this!"

A jet of flame caused the door to spin open and Spyro walked out into the jungle. Tara was standing there. She was dressed in a pink cloak with a golden collar around her neck. The gold really didn't stand out much against Tara's yellow scales, not like Cynder's silver collar had against her red and black ones.

Spyro suppressed another sigh and greeted Tara. "Hey…"

"Hello, Spyro," Tara replied. "Come on; let's get away from this old place."

She leapt into the air and opened her wings. Spyro hesitated for a moment and flapped his wings, soaring after her.

Tara led him away from the temple and deeper into the jungle. Once, they had flown for several minutes, they descended toward a canyon.

Landing on the edge of the canyon, Spyro looked around. The forest stretched out before them, the river could be seen snaking across the landscape.

"What do you think?" Tara asked, sliding up alongside him.

"It's peaceful," Spyro replied. "Cynder and I used to come here sometimes."

Spyro felt Tara's wings drop at that.

"Come on," Tara said. "Let's go someplace else."

Spyro was about to lay down, but he stopped midway as Tara started walking off in a huffy manner. He stood up fully and reluctantly followed her into the jungle.

Tara didn't stay huffy for long and soon cheered up and asked Spyro in a sweet tone. "So you're doing pretty well with your combat training, right?"

Spyro looked away momentarily and rolled his eyes. "I'm doing okay. There are still other dragons there with more experience then me."

"Oh, well, they got a head start," Tara shrugged. "And if you had all of your elemental powers you would be at the top of the class."

"Yeah, I guess," Spyro said. He was actually somewhat glad that he hadn't recovered all of his elemental abilities. He had combat training and training in fire and thunder manipulation. If he had to study ice and earth on top of that, he would probably have little free time and he would be exhausted.

Tara stopped and turned to face him. Spyro noticed that they had stopped in the middle of a field of giant mushrooms. "You know, Spyro, I like a lot of things about you. You're so strong, but you're not too muscular, you've got some sleekness to you and I just love the color of your eyes."

_Someone kill me,_ Spyro silently begged. _I mean it. Just comet dash my head in._

"Is there anything you like about my personality though?" Spyro asked, sounding a bit snappy.

"Well… uh…," Tara glanced away.

--

Cynder glanced around. She had wandered into some dark unfamiliar forest. The trees around her grew like thorns and they formed a canopy above her that would prevent her from flying away. The ground was bare of any plant life and hurt her paws.

She glanced around and slowly walked forward, not sure which way would take her out of the forest.

The farther she went the more the strange trees pressed in around her until she was standing in a tunnel formed by them.

Cynder glanced back down the tunnel. She was surprised to see light at that end and normal green trees and grass-covered ground. And then something else stepped into view. Cynder's heart leapt at the sight of the purple and gold figure.

"Spyro!" she yelled, turning and running toward the end of the tunnel. Spyro looked up at her, his face expressionless. Cynder was almost to the end of the tunnel when something slammed into her and sent her tumbling back.

She looked up to see that she had collided with a dragon, several other dragons stood around it.

"Let me through!" Cynder growled, ramming her head against the larger dragon's chest.

"No, go back to the darkness where you belong!" the dragon growled, batting her back into the thorn tunnel.

"Spyro, help me!" Cynder said, running at the dragons, but they just pushed her back. Spyro hadn't moved and his expression was unchanged. "Spyro!"

A young electric dragon appeared and walked up next to Spyro. She snuggled up against Spyro's side and wrapped her wings around him.

"Forget it. Spyro's mine!" Tara laughed. "Go back to the darkness!"

The other dragons echoed her cry and shoved Cynder farther back. She felt the thorns wrap around her and pull her away. She tried to dig her claws into the ground, but they couldn't penetrate the hard earth. A familiar voice laughed into her ear.

Cynder awoke with a scream. She glanced around the curtain sheltered part of the hut that served as her room. She was covered in sweat and panting heavily. She could still hear the laughter ringing in her ears.

"Are you okay?" Kadie asked, fluttering down from above her.

"I'm fine," Cynder said even as her mind registered the scratches from the thorns. The nightmares were still hurting her physically.

She jumped as Jirin pushed the curtain open and set a bowl in front of her. "Eat this, it will help."

The bowl was filled with a brown sauce, bits of mushroom and herbs floated in it. Cynder leaned down and sniffed it. The soup smelled pungent, but not noxious. She licked up a bit of it and instantly felt better. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Jirin said, closing the curtain.

Cynder took several more gulps of the soup, aware that Kadie was watching her closely. "You're afraid that I'll lose control of myself?"

Kadie shrugged. "The thought crossed my mind."

"I thought it would get better," Cynder sighed.

"Jirin says you'll need to get more of the Dark Master's soul out of yourself first," Kadie said. "Now, that he knows you can get rid of him, he's going to try harder to break you."

"Great," Cynder sighed, laying her head on her paws.


	4. Two Journeys Begin

Disclaimer: I don't own Spyro!

Chapter 4

Two Journeys Begin

_I'm free!_ Spyro thought gleefully as he walked to his room. He had been polite to Tara, but not very encouraging. If she tried to ask him out again, he would just say no.

Spyro entered his room and jumped back as a bright yellow light blinded him.

"So how did it go?" Sparx asked, hovering a few inches from Spyro's face.

"Horrible," Spyro replied, glancing away and wondering if Sparx had always been that bright. "Could you leave? I'd kind of like to get some sleep."

"Fine," Sparx frowned and then swooped out over Spyro's head.

Spyro walked into the dark room and flopped down on his bed. He curled up and was asleep in a few moments.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded at the door. Spyro groaned as his sleep was interrupted. He rolled onto his feet and stumbled over to the door, vowing that if it was Sparx, he would put the annoying insect inside of a jar for the rest of the night.

Instead, he found Pyris, Cynder's sister. She pushed her way inside and closed the door behind her, glancing around the room. Spyro immediately realized that something was going on. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…," Pyris glanced around. "Well, actually… I'mgoingtorunawayandgolookforCynderbymyself…thatisifyoudon'twanttocomewithme."

Spyro blinked as it took his mind several seconds to translate the other youngster's rapid speech. "Why?"

"Because there is no way that anyone else can find her," Pyris replied. "I know that Ignitus has everyone keeping an eye out for her, but I don't think Cynder will be anywhere near another dragon. She doesn't want to be around anyone and if anyone found her… Well, I'm not sure that they'll listen to Ignitus and bring her back…"

"So you're saying…"

"That we're the only two people that Cynder will let get near her," Pyris replied. "So we have to go find her and convince her to come back."

"I don't know. I mean, it's really dangerous out there…" Spyro said. "She could be anywhere."

Pyris frowned stubbornly. "I don't care. I'm going tomorrow evening. Let me know if you decide to come with."

She turned and walked out the door. Spyro turned and walked over to the window, glancing out at the forest. He would never be able to sleep now.

"Cynder, where are you?"

--

"I'm right here," Cynder sighed, pushing her way out of the bushes. A makeshift pack sat on her back, filled with several different herbs.

"You shouldn't go too far," Kadie said. "Even with the skellies gone, this place is still dangerous."

"Oh, please," Cynder scoffed. "I can take care of myself."

She stepped forward and slipped on the mud, sliding head first down the muddy hill, stopping beneath Kadie. She raised her head and shook it, sending some of the mud flying.

"Yeah, I can see that," Kadie chuckled. "Let's head back. It looks like we have enough veggies to satisfy Jirin."

They headed back toward the hut, Cynder brushing the mud off on whatever plant life she could. There were still bits of mud covering her by the time they got back to the hut. Cynder slipped the pack off of her back, while Kadie tossed down the small leak that she had carried back.

Cynder looked up as she heard a voice from inside the hut. "Jirin has a visitor?"

"He's never had any visitors in all the time that I've been here," Kadie said, exchanging a curious glance with Cynder. The two flapped their wings and landed outside of the entrance to the hut, Cynder pushed the door open.

"Hey-," Cynder stopped as she saw who Jirin's guest was.

It was a rather small creature, covered with black fur. He stood on his hind legs, hunched over on a large wooden cane. He wore a strange hat with a candle on top of it, rather odd since he didn't have any visible eyes and Cynder knew for a fact that his species relied more on smell then any other sense.

He turned and sniffed the air. Cynder knew that if he had eyes, he would be staring right at her. She hoped that the mud would disguise her scent from him.

Mole-Yair turned back to Jirin. "So you will look into it?"

"Of course, my friend," Jirin replied.

"Thank you," the manwersmall turned and shuffled toward the door. Cynder leapt to the side and pressed herself against the wall.

"Do you know him?" Jirin asked, raising an eyebrow at Cynder.

"I-, I mean, the old me, imprisoned him and his people…" Cynder replied, recalling how she had been ready to let all of the manwersmalls perish in Boyzitbig's eruption.

"Perhaps you can make it up to him," Jirin said gently. "He just told me that several of the manwersmalls were captured by the apes. He's found their general location and wants me to try and locate them."

"I'll do whatever I can," Cynder said instantly.

--

"Spyro!"

The purple dragon glanced up tiredly at Crystalis. He had failed to catch much sleep last night.

"You're in big trouble," Crystalis explained, sliding to a stop next to him. "Tara's told everyone that the two of you are a couple and that you're going on another date tonight."

Spyro stared blankly at his friend for a few moments. "What? I didn't agree to any of that! Who does she think she is to say that?!"

"What are you going to do?" Crystalis asked. "I mean, this is kind of embarrassing."

Spyro glanced around the training room. Several of the boys were glaring at him jealously, while the others were looking at him with envy, a few of them gave him a thumbs up.

"Do you know where Pyris is at?" Spyro asked.


	5. Into the Unkown

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro series.

Chapter 5

Into the Unknown

"The only village near where the manwersmalls were taken is a few days journey from here on foot," Jirin said as he packed several different herbs into a backpack. "The apes most likely stopped there on the way to their final destination."

"There's a village near here?" Cynder asked. The elders had never said anything about a village in the swamp.

Jirin nodded. "It's well-hidden."

"And the people there have no problem with the apes?"

"The people there aren't concerned with the problems of the outside world," Jirin said. "They're mostly traders… though they're not very honest."

"Oh," Cynder said. "So…"

"The place is full of scum," Kadie scowled, trying to hoist a jar of something that looked like eyeballs into the air.

"That's okay, Kadie," Jirin said. "I don't think we'll need any of those."

"What if I get hungry?" Kadie asked, as Cynder stuck her tongue out in disgust.

--

"Why can't I come with you?" Crystalis asked as Spyro shoved a piece of meat into his backpack. They wouldn't be taking much food with them and would be relying on their ability to hunt once they ran out.

"Because Pyris and I don't have any immediate family that will miss us," Spyro said. "And right now, you're all that your mom has."

Crystalis sighed. "You know, Ignitus is going to miss you."

"Yeah, I know," Spyro replied.

Crystalis glanced around the room. "Where's Sparx?"

"I don't know," Spyro replied. "He hasn't been here though, thank the ancestors."

"Are the two of you fighting?" Crystalis asked.

"I don't know," Spyro said before biting hold of a blanket and dragging it over to his backpack and stuffing it inside, wishing that he knew how to properly fold it. "He's just been unusually annoying the last couple of days."

"He's not going with you?"

"He doesn't know that I'm leaving," Spyro said.

"After you've left, do you want me to give him a message?" Crystalis asked.

"Yeah, tell him to grow up," Spyro said, sliding his favorite cloak over his head.

"Will do," Crystalis said.

Spyro pushed the door to his room open and peered out, before pushing it all the way open. Crystalis slid past him and stalked down the hall, glancing around the corner at the end of it. He flicked his tail, signaling that it was all clear. The purple dragon trotted over as Crystalis turned around the corner.

Pressing against the wall, Spyro peered around the corner. Crystalis flicked his tail back. Spyro quickly ducked into the empty room across from him and closed the door. He heard Terrador greet Crystalis, followed by the guardian's footsteps, passing by his hiding place.

He waited a few moments and then opened the door to peer out, finding that the hall was empty, he pushed the door all the way open and stepped out into the hall.

"Come on, it's clear," Crystalis said, stepping around the corner.

The two headed to the end of the hall and glided out of the window, landing in a group of bushes, several dragon lengths from the temple.

"I'll go see if I can find Pyris," Crystalis said, jogging back to the temple.

Spyro settled down in the bushes. He leaned his head down and sniffed one of the white flowers growing on the bush. The flower had a strong, yet sweet scent. It reminded him of how Cynder smelled.

The purple dragon jumped up as he heard something rustling in the bushes behind him. He glanced back to see Ignitus pushing his way into the bushes. Spyro raised his wings, ready to leap into the air.

"Don't worry, I won't try and stop you," Ignitus said, frowning.

"Really?" Spyro exclaimed in surprise. "Why not?"

"I saw you leaving in the pool of visions," Ignitus replied. "I saw some other things… But the point is, this is your path at the moment and I can't interfere."

"Why? What did you see?" Spyro asked.

Ignitus frowned, glancing at the setting sun. "It doesn't matter now. May the ancestors look after you."

The red dragon turned and walked out of the bushes. Spyro stared after him, a chill running up his spine. He glanced back as Pyris and Crystalis landed inside the bush.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with?" Crystalis asked Pyris.

"Yes, we're sure," Pyris said.

"I know I can't fight very well, but there are…"

Pyris placed the tip of her tail over top of Crystalis' mouth. "It doesn't have anything to do with that. It's just that this is very personal for Spyro and I and we don't want you to get hurt, because of us."

Crystalis looked down at the ground. "Okay, be careful,"

"We will," Spyro said. "Try and keep Sparx out of trouble."

The two dragons turned and started into the bushes as Crystalis turned and walked back to the temple.


	6. First Move

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro series. I just own several characters and most of the concepts for this fanfiction.

Chapter 6

First Move

"Have you seen Spyro anywhere?" Sparx asked.

Crystalis looked up from his meal, a small goat that he had found in the forest. He was eating it outside of the temple. "Not since last night…"

"How can someone so fat hide so well?" Sparx asked, glancing around.

The ice dragon shrugged in reply. He stared down at his meal, ripping off another piece of meat.

Sparx frowned. "Is there something that you aren't telling me?"

"Spyro left last night," Crystalis replied. "He went with Pyris to go find Cynder."

"What?!" Sparx exclaimed. "Why didn't he ask me to come with?"

Crystalis rolled his eyes. He wondered why the dragonfly was so upset. Spyro had said that Sparx had complained almost the whole way on all of their other adventures.

"Well, we'll see just how far he gets without me," Sparx huffed, crossing his arms and puffing up his chest.

"By the way, Spyro wanted me to tell you something," Crystalis said. "He said that you should 'grow up.'"

"I'm already plenty mature," Sparx said. "See you later. I'm going to go draw funny animals on the temple walls again."

--

"Did you find her?"

"Yes, my lord," the ape replied.

"Good," the Dark Master smirked. He glanced around the cavern. The massive chamber was lit by several torches that burned with green flames. Several walkways had been built from one side of the cave to the other, some connected to a massive wooden platform in the center.

The Dark Master and the ape were standing on the cave floor. The floor was covered in damp mud; several glowing mushrooms grew out of it. The Dark Master stepped forward, crushing one of the mushrooms under his foot. He stopped next to a large yellow orb. The orb was connected by several brown tendrils to the muddy floor. A shape could be made out inside of the orb, that of something half-way between dragon and ape.

"Sir, I think maybe we should stop these experiments," the ape said.

The specter turned his expression one of pure malice. His voice was calm and cold. "Why do you think that?"

"Rumors have been leaking to the armies," the graying ape replied. "They are all uneasy and are afraid that if this works, that they'll all be changed into t-those things."

"Are you saying that being a dragon would be a bad thing?" the Dark Master asked, turning away from him. The ape breathed a sigh of relief. "Having dragons on our side would be rather useful. I think Cynder has proven that."

"Yes, sir," the ape replied.

"But if you need farther proof, why don't you go find a pod?" the Dark Master chuckled. He snapped his fingers and two apes that had been standing off to the side rushed in and grabbed the first ape.

The Dark Master watched as the two dragged the ape away, the fool begging for his life.

He glanced around the cavern, almost all of the apes' fur had faded to grey, or white and several had patches of fur that had fallen out. Ever since he had found the cave, the Dark Master had wondered what kind of effect it would have upon a creature of flesh and blood. It was no wonder everyone avoided the area.

--

Once, Spyro and Pyris were a good distance away from the temple, they took to the air. Pyris had suggested that they look in the swamp first, since it was the closest uninhabited place.

"Well, uninhabited by dragons anyway," she had said.

They reached the edge of the swamp around midday and scanned it from the air, but the trees blocked everything from view. They turned back and landed on the swamp's border and split up to look for food.

Spyro wasn't having much luck. He was used to hunting grazing animals and there didn't appear to be any of them near the swamp. He came across several large insects, but he remembered when he had taken a bite out of a spidershroom and found that it tasted horrible.

He paused as he heard a familiar screech. He ducked behind a tree and glanced up to find a dreadwing circling above. He could just barely make out the shape of the ape sitting on its back.

_A spy?_ Spyro wandered as the dreadwing turned and flew further into the swamp.

The purple dragon cautiously stepped out from behind the tree and then turned and headed back to camp. He wasn't too worried about his hunger anymore and they still had some food left. He was more concerned with telling Pyris about the dreadwing.

When he got back to the small clearing that served as their camp, he found Pyris was already back and had caught a large white bird of some kind.

"You didn't find anything?" Pyris asked.

"I found a dreadwing," Spyro replied. "One of the Dark Master's."

Pyris' eyes widened. "What's it doing this close to the temple? What do you think they're looking for?"

The two of them frowned, the same thought flashing through their minds.

"Let's eat quickly," Pyris said, pushing the bird forward. "Then we'll see if we can find that dreadwing."

--

The dreadwing's pilot frowned as he scanned the ground below. The pilot had smelled his second target a little ways back, but the Dark Master had said to acquire the first target, before proceeding to the next.

A change in wind direction brought a new scent to the pilot's noise and the dreadwing was soon angled in the direction of the scent.

--

Cynder sighed as she curled up on the ground, the heat of the campfire warming her side. Jirin was sitting across from her on a fallen log and using a large dagger to carve a piece of wood. Kadie was fluttering around the campsite, weary of some kind of predator sneaking up on them.

Feeling a shifting sensation inside her stomach, Cynder raised her head. She sighed, she had almost forgotten about the pieces of darkness still inside her.

"What's wrong?" Jirin asked.

"I just felt…" Cynder sighed and stared at the fire. "When should I try to get it out again?"

"You could try now," Jirin replied. He glanced over at Kadie and raised his voice. "We're safe here and you'll have the whole night to rest."

"Look out!" Kadie shouted.

Cynder glanced up, seeing a dreadwing diving at them. She leapt forward and pushed Jirin out of the way. Seconds later, a blast of sound slammed into the log and shattered it, sending splinters flying.

The dreadwing flapped its wings and regained its altitude, circling around for another dive. Cynder leapt back to her feet and then launched herself into the air. She swerved around a projectile that was thrown from the dreadwing's back and glanced down to see it hit Jirin, exploding into a block of ice and immobilizing the old llama.

She glanced back up to find the dreadwing diving at her. It slammed a wing into her and sent her careening through the air, to land roughly on the ground. She groaned as she bounced across the forest floor. Cynder moaned, dazed from the impact.

The dreadwing descended and its rider leapt off of it. The dark gray ape smirked and strode toward Cynder.

"Back off!" Kadie growled, flying in front of the primate. The creature raised its hand and swatted her away, Kadie landing on the ground, unconscious.

Cynder meanwhile was standing back up and growling angrily at the intruder.

The ape paused and then, right in front of Cynder began to fall apart. Its skin and clothes turned black and then lost shape entirely, until what had been a creature was nothing but a shapeless black blob. It didn't stay shapeless however. The blob stretched out, one end forming into a tail, while the other formed into an arrow-shaped head. The rest of it compressed together, until the blob looked like a huge snake. The snake's color shifted, red stripes appeared on its back, while its belly turned a pale white color. A small pair of horns appeared over the snake's yellow eyes.

Cynder leapt forward, but the snake swung its tail forward and swatted her out of midair. She slammed into a tree and slumped to the ground.

The snake slithered over, melting back into a black puddle, which pulled itself toward the black dragoness. The semi-liquid substance began to cover Cynder.

The black dragoness opened her eyes, just as the liquid finished covering her face. Cynder yelped in panic as she suddenly found herself blind. She stood up and stumbled a bit still dazed.

"Get off me," Cynder demanded, the sound muffled through the substance.

Strangely enough, the substance listened to her, flowing off of her. As soon as it was off of her completely, Cynder leapt back.

The liquid began forming into something else. It rose off the ground and formed a head, followed by a long neck, a set of wings, four legs, and finally a familiar looking tail. The shape shifter completed its transformation, turning black and red.

Cynder gasped as she found herself staring at a perfect copy of herself. The new Cynder mimicked the gasp mockingly.


	7. The Shape Stealer

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro. It belongs to… well, at this point, I'm not sure who.

Chapter 7

The Shape Stealer

Cynder glared daggers at the shape stealer. Her mimic smirked cockily.

"Finally, I get to meet the great Cynder," the creature chuckled in a voice exactly the same as hers. "Kind of scrawny, aren't you? I mean, even for a hatchling."

"You're one of the Dark Master's servants," Cynder stated. "I've heard of you. What do you want? Upfront attacks aren't your style."

"Well-informed, aren't you?" the fake Cynder said. She glanced over at Jirin, who was muttering a spell under his breath to melt the ice that currently immobilized him.

Seeing her adversary's attention shifted elsewhere, Cynder leapt forward and swung her tail, aiming the deadly blade at the end for her duplicate's neck. An identical tail shot up and blocked the blow.

Shocked by seeing her blow so easily deflected, Cynder was unprepared when the shape stealer leapt forward and slammed her head into Cynder's chest. She gasped and then swung her tail up again, once again the clone blocked with the skill of one intimately familiar with their body.

Cynder guessed the shape stealer had imitated other dragons before her and that accounted for her skill with her new form. She didn't have time for farther thoughts as she ducked a claw swipe.

Jirin's progress with the ice block was slow. His limbs were still frozen. Cynder considered trying to use her fire breath to melt the ice, but thought better of it. The Dark Master could very easily force her to use too much power and burn Jirin to a crisp.

The fake Cynder charged and slammed into the black dragoness, knocking her to the ground and pinning her there. She tried to bit Cynder's head, but Cynder moved her head to the side in time and then opened her mouth and released a jet of flames.

The shape stealer screeched loudly, the sound eerie and piercing. She leapt back, beating her wings to get away from the fire. Her flesh melted and dropped to the ground as a large black blob, which quickly reshaped itself into the form of a giant black snake again.

Cynder leapt back as the snake's head snapped down on the spot she had been standing in. She launched another blast of flame, before it pulled its head away. Flames covered the snake's head for a moment, before the flesh melted into the shape stealer's liquid-like substance and extinguished the fire. Cynder took advantage of the distraction this created and leapt forward, setting fire to the lower half of the fake serpent. She didn't stop there; she stepped forward, keeping up a steady stream of flame, the snake melting back into its true form in an attempt to douse the blaze.

The creature resumed its eerie screech, the liquid thrashing and pulling itself away, even as Cynder advanced upon it, spraying it with flames.

Opening her mouth, Cynder gathered her energy for the final blow. She hesitated, her mind conjuring up imagines of city's burning in place of the withering pile of smoking slime.

She could hear herself roar as she flew over the burning city, watching as the people of the city fled before her army. She paused as she spotted two fauns, trapped within a ring of fire.

The large black dragoness landed and eyed the two fauns. Both of their fur was red, the fur of the larger one had a few gray hairs, the younger faun she guessed to be a teenager. Cynder roared and leapt forward, mouth open.

The older faun shouted and shoved her companion out of harm's way.

Cynder gasped, snapping out of the memory. She stared down at the withering shadow and then stepped away, retreating back towards Jirin.

The shape stealer sat motionless for a moment and then pulled itself together, retaking Cynder's form; she turned and opened her wings flying into the sky. Her wing beats irregular and her form bouncing and swerving in the air.

Cynder gasped for air, her whole body trembling. Jirin ceased his spell casting for a moment to watch her. His eyes full of concern.

"I-, I-," Cynder gasped. She hunched over and vomited.

"What is it?" Jirin asked. Cynder was surprised by how calm he sounded.

Cynder sat down, letting her wings droop and hung her head. She shook her head slowly. "I'm a monster."

---------------------------------

Spyro and Pyris had finished their meal with all possible speed and then Spyro led them in the direction the dreadwing had flown. They flew, slowly and carefully, beneath the treetops, worried soaring in the open sky might attract unwanted attention. Both were silent as they flew and Spyro almost missed the chatter that Sparx had always supplied.

The purple dragon turned his thoughts away from the dragonfly. He instead thought of Cynder wandering what were she was and worrying something might have happened to her.

The dragons flew all through the night, finally stopping when Spyro began to feel tired. He asked Pyris if she would like to rest and she nodded sleepily in reply. The two found a large tree and huddled down for the night in the massive roots of the great plant.

Spyro's dreams were mercifully free of nightmares. He slept for a few hours when a rustling in the bushes awoke him. He looked up as the sound continued.

"Pyris…" Spyro glanced over to find that she was already awake and staring out into the forest.

"Let's go," Pyris said, standing up and creeping toward the source of the noise.

Spyro hesitated for a moment, before he stood and followed, stepping lightly to avoid making a sound.

The rustling noise stopped, the two continued on. As they got closer to the noise, Spyro realized that perhaps they were walking into a trap. The thought gave him pause and he lost sight of Pyris behind a curtain of tall grass.

Pyris gasped loudly. "Spyro! Come here!"

Spyro leapt forward, coming into a clearing and gasping himself as he saw Pyris kneeling over a still black form.

"Cynder!"

---------------------------------------

Author's Note: Bum bum bum!


	8. Confusion

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro series.

Chapter 8

Confusion

Not wishing to drag Cynder back to where they had made camp, they instead moved their camp into the clearing they had found her in. Both of them stared worriedly at the unconscious dragoness.

They had tried to make her more comfortable, but aside from that they couldn't do much more.

"It's so strange," Pyris said. "She seems so weak, but there isn't a mark on her."

Spyro nodded. "Maybe she was running from something and exhausted herself?" he suggested.

"Probably," Pyris shrugged.

Cynder moaned and flicked her tail, before pushing herself up. She glanced around, not noticing Spyro and Pyris since they were sitting behind her in the shade. She turned around and jumped when she saw them. An expression of fear and hatred momentarily appeared on her face, before it was forced into a more neutral expression.

Spyro felt a twisting feeling in his gut as he saw Cynder's initial reaction to them.

"Spyro… Pyris…," the black dragoness attempted to stand. She stumbled back to the ground.

"Don't force yourself," Pyris said, jumping up and flapping her wings to carry herself over to her sister.

Spyro stayed where he was, trying to ignore the feeling of distrust he felt and feeling low for even having the feeling. He had found Cynder so quickly; it was too good to be true.

He stood up and walked over to Cynder. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I was attacked by some apes," she replied. "There were too many to fight, so I ran, but they had some dreadwings. It took a lot to out maneuver them."

"You should rest," Pyris suggested. "Spyro and I will keep watch."

Cynder nodded and laid her head on her front paws. Spyro flicked his tail towards the tree he and Pyris had been lying under and led the way over there.

"Do you…" Spyro paused and lowered his voice. "Do you think that's really Cynder?"

"Who else could it be?" Pyris asked. She frowned and glanced over at what seemed to be a black dragoness. "I don't know. Something feels wrong. Her expression…"

"Yeah, I saw it too," Spyro said. "Let's just be careful."

The shape stealer glanced over at the two of them and scowled. She couldn't believe she had given herself away like that, but keeping up facades required concentration and they had surprised her. She cursed herself, aware that if she failed, the Dark Master would not be very forgiving.

---------------------------------------------

Cynder was curled up at the edge of their campground. Her tail wrapped tightly around herself as she sobbed quietly. She faced away from the campfire and the other two.

She heard the flutter of wings as Kadie flew over to her. Cynder used her tail to wipe away her tears, before she raised her head and faced Kadie. "What is it?"

Kadie flinched as she heard the sniffle in Cynder's voice. "Will you be okay?"

Cynder laid her head back on the ground. "I think so… My memories of when I was… well, they're all very hazy, but they're still there. I hear people say it wasn't my fault… what I did… But what if I had been stronger? Couldn't I have resisted, even a little?"

"You were just a hatchling," Kadie shook her head. "You couldn't have resisted what they did to you."

Cynder sighed. "Maybe…"

"So, are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I just have to put those memories out of my mind, that's the only thing I can really do," Cynder replied.

---------------------------------------------------

Spyro and Pyris each spent half of the night sleeping, while the other kept guard. Both kept an eye on Cynder just as much as they did their surroundings. The black dragoness didn't move all night and had appeared to be asleep.

"I guess we should head back to the temple," Pyris said.

"You're coming with. Right, Cynder?" Spyro still hadn't shaken his feeling of uneasiness, but if this really was Cynder he didn't want to do anything suspicious and if it wasn't, then he didn't want to do anything suspicious anyway.

"No, I have something I need to do," she replied, glancing at the ground.

The other two looked up. "What?"

"While I was traveling I found out about a group of moles that were captured and are going to be put to work by the Dark Master," Cynder explained. "I have to help them."

"Then we'll come with," Pyris volunteered. "Then we can head back to the temple."

Spyro was going to ask Pyris if she was sure about coming. She hadn't been through as much as Cynder and him, but then he remembered she had spent some of her life locked in a cage by her own people and realized that in her own way, she had went through just as much as them. He also didn't want to be off by himself with what might not be Cynder.

"Are you okay, Spyro?" Cynder asked. "You're being kind of quiet."

"Oh, sorry," Spyro said. "It's just I haven't seen you in a while. I don't know what to say…"

She glanced at the scar on Spyro's throat. "I'm sorry."

Spyro opened his mouth. He was stunned. Cynder seemed to be behaving like herself. He felt mortified to be distrusting her. "It's fine. You… weren't yourself."

The group was silent for a moment. Pyris quickly spoke up. "Why don't we go see if we can catch some breakfast?"

"Okay."

"Good idea."

The three headed off in opposite directions.

The shape stealer glanced around, looking for something that her current body could catch. She wished she could change shape, but it was too risky.

"It doesn't exactly look like they trust you," the shape stealer glanced up, glaring at the small black figure in the trees.

"What are you doing here?" she growled. "Talking to you could give me away."

"It's not like you have them fooled anyway," Edord pointed out.

"Idiot," the fake dragoness hissed. "There are many different kinds of deception. Already they're not sure if their suspicion is founded and it doesn't matter anyway, just so long as I get them to the cave, right?"

"Just so long as you get the purple one to the cave," the black dragonfly said.

"That's right," she smirked sadistically. "I can do whatever I want to the red one can't I?"


	9. The First Round

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro series.

Chapter 9

The First Round

Spyro leapt to the side and the hound went flying past him. There were three of the creatures. Two of them were standing in front of him, while the third was behind.

The purple dragon leapt as the one in front of him and the one behind him charged forward. The two canines slammed headfirst into each other. The third one leapt and sank its teeth into Spyro's tail.

He yelped and beat his wings, trying to gain altitude, but the hound was heavy and it's failing made flying difficult. The dragon twisted his head around and spat a fireball at the hound, it yelped and let go, dropping a few feet to the ground.

A hound leapt at Spyro. Its leap carried it high enough into the air to ram into him. He was sent tumbling back and slammed into a tree trunk. Spyro groaned and fell unconscious.

The small pack of hounds turned and headed towards the unconscious dragon. A black dragon leapt out of the bushes and blocked their path. The shape stealer glared at the three canines, which growled back. The dragon began melting into a black liquid, which rose up like a wave above the three animals.

They whimpered at the unfamiliar creature and deciding not to risk attacking it, turned and fled into the forest.

The liquid turned and flowed across the ground towards Spyro; it flowed up his tail and soon covered him completely. After a few moments, the liquid receded and rose off the ground, turning purple and yellow as it sprouted wings, a tail, legs, and finally a neck and head.

Edord swept down over top of the shape stealer and hovered in the air. It glanced up at him. "Where is she?"

The dark dragonfly didn't reply. He turned and flew off into the forest, forcing the shape stealer to leap into the air and fly after him.

They slowed and the shape stealer landed on a thick tree branch. It glanced down to see Pyris. She was dragging a large deer by its leg. The animal's fur was burnt and smoke was still rising from it.

Pyris dropped the goat's leg from her mouth and looked up at the sound of wings fluttering. Spyro slammed into her and knocked her onto her back. She rolled to her feet as the purple dragon leapt at her again. She barely managed to jump out of the way.

Spyro's leap carried him towards a tree, which he rebounded off. Pyris yelped as he slammed unto her back and pinned her down. She screamed as sharp teeth stabbed through the back of her neck. Her tail swung up out of instinct and the sharp tip stabbed into her attacker's back.

An undragon scream sounded as "Spyro" withdrew his teeth. The weight pinning her down lifted away and she turned and spotted the wound she had made. There was no blood pouring from the wound and instead of red flesh, a thick black substance was visible through the wound. The shape stealer's face wrinkled in concentration and the wound closed up.

"Pyris!" Spyro's voice shouted from nearby.

The Spyro imposter turned and flapped his wings, rising into the air and out of sight.

"What happened?" Spyro asked, bursting out of the forest and spotting Pyris, who had collapsed.

"You attacked me," Pyris replied, her voice sounded hollow.

"What?" Spyro spotted her bloody neck a moment later. "Hold on, I saw some crystals on the way over here."

"No, I'm fine," Pyris tried to stand and yelped in pain. Her tail went limp and fell to the ground.

"I'll only be a moment," Spyro said.

"What if that thing comes back?" Pyris asked. Her expression was one of pure terror.

Spyro hesitated, before he stepped forward and stood beside Pyris. She leaned against his side and he led her forward. "Are you okay?"

"I can't feel my tail," Pyris replied.

"It's not far," Spyro assured.

They rounded a corner and the red crystal came into view. Spyro led her over to the crystal and rammed his horns against it. The impact made his head throb a bit, already sore from his previous impact with the tree.

Several gems broke away from the crystal and floated around Pyris before she absorbed them. The horrible wound in her neck closed up and she flicked her tail, sighing in relief.

"Now, who attacked you?" Spyro asked.

"He looked exactly like you," Pyris said, shivering. Both of them were silent for a moment. "It had to be the same thing that's imitating Cynder. That thing… if we see it again, we have to kill it, it's too dangerous to let it stay alive."

Spyro nodded.

Edord turned and fluttered away.

--------------------------------------

"Now that the shape stealer has copied your form, we need to take precautions against it," Jirin said.

"We could always have a password, or something," Kadie suggested.

"It might be better if I could find a way to make myself distinct from her," Cynder frowned.

"You could buy a collar or something when we get to the village," Kadie suggested.

"Good idea," Cynder said.


	10. Felon's Refuge

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro.

Chapter 10

Felon's Refuge

"There it is," Jirin said as they reached the crest of the hill. Cynder stared down at the village. The buildings were old and decrepit with blue-green moss growing on most of it. Most of it was built on stilts over a poisonous lake, which had several small ships docked. "I shall see if I can find out where the moles where taken. You can go buy something to distinguish yourself from the shape stealer."

The llama tossed a small sack to Kadie. Cynder expected to hear the sack jingle when Kadie caught it, but a clattering sound came from it instead.

"I'd recommend you try Frogtongue's place first. Tell him I sent you," Jirin said, starting down the hill. Cynder glided after him. She glanced around when she landed. A rotten wooden sign stood above the entrance to the village. Felon's Refuge could be made out written in faded black paint on the sign. "Kadie can show you the way. Meet me at the Poisoned Mushroom Inn when you're finished."

The small white insect took off in one direction, Cynder followed. Only a handful of creatures walked past, most of them resembled apes, but with canine-looking heads. All of them looked shifty, or otherwise unsavory.

"Isn't Jirin afraid someone will steal that sack from you?" Cynder asked.

"No, if someone tries to take this from me, they'll get a nasty surprise…" Kadie replied. "Jirin hexes most of the stuff he carries into this place and most everyone here knows not to try anything."

Kadie led her out over the lake. The paths here were narrow and without railing. A shove, whether accidental, or not, could send one plummeting into the liquid below. Cynder stayed as close to the center of the path as she could.

"Here we are," Kadie said, hovering over to a large building. The sign above it read "Honest Frogtongue's Trinkets and Stuff"; or rather it did when you corrected all the spelling errors.

Cynder pushed the door open, the bell above it ringing as they entered the shop. Another one of the canine creatures sat behind the counter, lounging back in his chair and looking half-asleep. He grunt at the sound of the bell and looked towards the door, spotting the two.

"Kadie! I see old Jirin still has you in his service," Frogtongue said. His long tongue lolled out of his mouth and Cynder noticed the strange green coloration of it.

"Yeah, he does," Kadie replied.

"He always was quick to magic someone," Frogtongue said, fingering his large green tongue. "Says he's teaching them a lesson. Rubbish, I say. But anyway what are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for some kind of jewelry," Cynder spoke up. The shopkeeper looked at her and studied her. Recognition flashed across his face a moment later.

"I see, I see. Wait here," Frogtongue said, heading through the doorway behind the counter. They could hear Frogtongue muttering and shifting around objects. A loud crash sounded, followed by a quick swearword. "Oh, my tongue!"

Cynder examined the shop's contents, noticing a barrel full of shrunken heads, several bones along with armor which resembled that of the undeads', and a necklace of what looked distinctly like dragon claws. Cynder shivered…

"Here we are!" Frogtongue said, emerging behind the counter with a necklace in hand. She was relieved to see purple pearls decorated the necklace rather than dragon claws. "And I guarantee that each pearl is the real thing. The oyster almost took my finger off when I was getting them. Do you have payment?"

Kadie fluttered over to him and dropped the bag into the canine's waiting hands. He set the pearl necklace down and carefully opened the bag, peering into it. Cynder walked over and examined the necklace. A purple gemstone was embedded into a strip of gold on the front of it.

"So will you take it?" Cynder looked up at Frogtongue who was clutching the small sack tightly. Cynder nodded and picked up the necklace in a paw, standing on her hind legs and working the clasp with her front paws she clipped it around her neck.

"It looks perfect," Frogtongue said, though the flattery was only an attempt to keep her from changing her mind. He really wanted whatever was in that bag.

"Thanks for the help," Kadie said, heading towards the door.

"No, thank you for your patronage," Frogtongue said, shaking the bag in his hands. "Sometimes I'm almost glad I tried to pick that llama's pockets…"

-------------------------------

Spyro and Pyris hadn't touched the ground since the shape stealer's attack. They didn't plan to land until they put plenty of distance between themselves and whatever was imitating Cynder.

Pyris glanced back and abruptly stopped and hovered in midair. Spyro noticed, stopped, and turned a few seconds later. He stopped and glared at the black figure flying towards them. It stopped and flew in a tight circle.

"It wants us to go after it," Spyro said.

"I don't care," Pyris said. "I want to get rid of that monster."

Spyro nodded and the two beat their wings, flying after the shape stealer, who turned and darted away in a very definite direction.

"It's leading us somewhere," Spyro said. "Let's keep our eyes open."

-----------------------------------------

Neither one of them wanted to look through the shops, so they headed for the Poisoned Mushroom. Cynder heard the sound of heavy footfalls and turned her head halfway around before something rammed into her hind section and sent her tumbling over the side of the wooden pier. She managed to grab hold of the wood with her front paws, sinking her claws deep into it, while the rest of her dangled over the poisonous lake below.

She looked up to see an ape standing over her, a grin plastered across his hairy muzzle. "Hello, ex-General."

Cynder growled and swung her tail up, the sharp tip piercing the wood and stabbing through the ape's foot. He cried out in pain and stumbled back, falling into the lake. She looked to her left and saw five small apes running towards her and one massive commander. She quickly climbed back onto the pathway.

The narrow walkway prevented the apes from coming at her in numbers higher then two. She ducked a swipe from the first ape and swatted her paw against its head, sending him tumbling over the edge. The other ape caught her in the shoulder with a swipe and she nearly followed the first ape off. She butted her head into his chest and knocked him back into the others.

The big ape howled and tossed a bundle of dynamite at Cynder. She caught it in her mouth and tossed it to the side and into the lake. Too late she realized the explosion would send the poisonous liquid shooting into the air. She spun around and leapt into the air, grabbing Kadie in a forepaw and flying as fast as she could. She glanced back to see the explosion send the poison spraying into the air, the substance dousing the apes and making them howl in pain. Cynder let Kadie fly out of her paw.

Several villagers peered out of their windows down at the apes below. A strange creature wearing a black and white tuxedo with a black top hat stepped out of one of the buildings. He carried a black cane. He was covered in blue chitin, the entire lower half of his body resembled a caterpillar and his face reminded Cynder a bit of an ant's. He wore a monocle over his right eye. The apes were all writhing on the ground in pain, so Cynder thought it would be safe to land.

The insect crawled up to the big ape and grounded his cane into the beast's back. "This village is for smugglers and thieves, not murderers. If you wish to get into a fight, there is a bar right around the corner."

The ape groaned and nodded his head slowly. The insect raised his cane, spun it about in his pincer-like hand once and then turned and headed off.

"Come on, let's fly the rest of the way," Cynder said, taking to the air again.


	11. Collision of Paths

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Spyro, or its characters. I own all characters in this fanfic that are not from the Legend of Spyro or the original Spyro the Dragon games.

Chapter 11

Collision of Paths

The Poisoned Mushroom looked better than the buildings that stood around it. The wood wasn't as old and rotten, nor did it have more then one type of moss growing on it. The lobby inside looked warm and regal with a soft red carpet underfoot and large comfortable-looking chairs. A fireplace stood in the far corner, an oak table in front of it.

The innkeeper directed them to sit down when he heard they were waiting for Jirin, who apparently was a regular customer here. Cynder spotted a nest of blankets, no doubt there for any patron that couldn't make use of the chairs. She went over and sat down on it, facing the door.

-----------------------------------

Neither Spyro, nor Pyris were catching up with the shape stealer. They could have dropped their backpacks, but then they would be in the middle of the wilderness with only their hunting abilities to supply them with food.

The shape stealer glanced back at them, every minute or so to make sure they were still there.

After several hours, Spyro began to tire and he could see from Pyris' slowing wing beats that she also was losing energy. The shape stealer seemed to be as energetic as when they had first started following it and if they got any more exhausted, it could probably turn and beat both of them in a fight.

Abruptly the shape stealer dived towards the ground. Spyro looked down and saw she was heading towards a group of buildings built over top of a poisoned lake. Pyris began to dive after the dark shape, but Spyro darted out in front of her and cut her off.

"What are you doing?" Pyris demanded.

"We can't fight her right now," Spyro said, surprised at how angry Pyris sounded. "We should rest."

"That thing could have slipped away by then," Pyris argued. "It's not as though we'll be able to recognize it if it takes another shape."

"I know, but I think we'll see it again," Spyro said. Pyris frowned and relaxed a bit. "It led us here for a reason. So whatever it's after, we're definitely going to play a part in it."

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The shape stealer smirked as she saw that the dragons were too cautious to pursue her. She landed on a deserted pathway and melted into the shape of an ape. Edord hovered out from a window.

"Where is she?" the shape stealer asked.

"In an inn not far from here," Edord replied.

The ape melted into a mass of black liquid and shrunk back into the shape of a dragon, turning purple and yellow. An uncharacteristic smirk appeared on Spyro's face. "Lead the way, bug."

Edord scowled and flew forward, the shape stealer following.

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Jirin still hadn't shown up and Cynder was getting bored. She had laid her head down on the blankets and began to drift off to sleep, when the door to the inn swung open and slammed into the wall with a loud crash.

She glanced up and saw the purple dragon step into the room. She was confused and surprised to see him all at once. Then confusion overwhelmed surprise as she saw the malevolent expression on his face. She growled and launched herself off the floor and at the shape stealer, who dashed back out of the door and took flight. Cynder leapt into the air and flapped her wings furiously, quickly catching up to the fake. She slammed her paws down on his back, forcing him a bit lower than was prudent and he flew head first into a building's roof. The old, rotten wood broke under the impact and the shape stealer went falling into the building. Cynder dived in after it and landed in the middle of what looked like a stable. She whipped her head around taking in her surroundings and finding that the fake Spyro was nowhere to be seen.

Cynder dashed out of the building and glanced around. The fake Spyro was trekking down a pathway towards the inn. She turned and leapt at him, a look of surprise appearing on his face. She slammed into him and the two went rolling across the path, both nearly went tumbling into the lake. Spyro ended up on top of her, but Cynder's front claws were free to slash at his legs which were pinning her upper half down. Cynder tilted her head to the side as the other dragon tried to bite her, instead his nose slammed into the wood. Hot blood was dripping from the wounds she had made in the dragon's legs. The sensation of the liquid dripping on her scales snapped her out of her angry rage as he realized that the shape stealer didn't bleed when she had slashed it.

"Spyro! Wait! It's me!" Cynder exclaimed as Spyro's mouth closed around her neck and his teeth sunk through her scales. She tried to shout again, but all that came out was a strangled gasp.

"Spyro, stop!" Pyris exclaimed as he spotted the red blood that had dripped from around Cynder's neck and made the same realization Cynder had about Spyro.

The purple dragon raised his head and caught sight of Cynder's bleeding neck, realizing his mistake. His mouth hung open in horror at what he had almost done. "Cynder! I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

Cynder gasped for breath and nodded. "I'll be fine. I guess you meant the shape stealer?"

Spyro nodded, feeling ashamed to have hurt Cynder so. He wrapped his front legs and wings around Cynder, hugging her tightly. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," Cynder said returning the hug.


End file.
